Sometimes getting into the right state is the first step in writing a great scene.
When I want to write good fiction, I have to be focused, alert and at least somewhat in the mood. I can’t be rushed, or distracted, or angry, or tired. Those states aren’t optimal for great writing.
But anyone who has done extensive fiction writing (or any writing for that matter) knows that focused eagerness is rarely the state that you start off with. It’s the exception, not the rule. But there are a few things one can do to cultivate a better state.
I have three things that I usually try:
Meditate extensively
This can involve doing two guided meditations of twenty minutes or more. Yes, that might be forty minutes that I could have been writing but it would not have been quality writing.
Read great fiction
Spending twenty minutes or so reading good fiction can be enough to get me inspired.
Investigate the emotion that’s bothering me
Often when I procrastinate on writing, it’s because there is some underlying emotion that’s bothering me. The way to move past this is to just spend time doing the emotional work. This involves inspecting, dissecting and accepting whatever emotional discomfort is there. I still sometimes fall into the trap of avoiding this but it always pays dividends.
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